Readmission rates at Pennsylvania hospitals for 20 conditions and procedures increased from 18.7% in 2004 to 19.1% in 2006, according to a report released Thursday by the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports. According to the council, the 57,993 readmissions that occurred during that period resulted in nearly $2.3 billion in charges and 352,000 hospital days.
About a quarter of the readmissions, or 15,057, were caused by infections or complications. "Reducing readmissions, especially those related to infections and other complications, is one possible way to restrain health care costs while improving patient care," Council Executive Director Marc Volavka said.
However, according to Harold Miller, a strategic initiatives consultant at the Pittsburgh Regional Healthcare Initiative, readmissions also can result from "things that happen outside the hospital. The patient may need to take a certain kind of medication, and they go home and they don't follow through." He noted that better coordination between hospitals and patients regarding care after hospital discharge could help reduce readmissions (Fabregas, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 9/27).
The report is available online
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